The Whole Industry Under One Roof — On Purpose

With more than 800 exhibitors at PRINTING United Expo, it’s easy to get lost in all the shiny, new equipment. That’s kind of the point, right? Yes, but with intention. The companies getting the biggest return on investment from Expo are also considering where their businesses could go next.

According to the “State of the Industry Report 2026” (SOI), produced by Alliance Insights and sponsored by Canon U.S.A., more than 75% of participants have diversified beyond their primary offering. More specifically, 48.7% say wide-format printing is a secondary segment, with packaging (35%), promotional products (25.2%), and apparel (20.5%) bringing print service providers (PSPs) additional opportunities.

The data shows PSPs continue to diversify to become true solutions partners for their customers. They aren’t sitting still, and Expo is the place to explore what’s next.

Wide-Format

For commercial printers like SWFL Print, wide-format printing is a natural expansion.

“We are already receiving requests from existing customers for banners, signs, yard signs, posters, and other large-format products,” Shannon Smith, operations manager, SWFL Print, explains. “Right now, outsourcing that work limits our control over turnaround times, quality, and pricing.”

Recent wide-format work SWFL Print produced and installed for a conference, including window clings, floor graphics, banners, and banner stands. | Credit: SWFL Print

Bringing it in-house would give customers a single source for everything from postcards and brochures to banners, yard signs, event displays, and storefront graphics, while giving SWFL Print greater control over production and added revenue. It would also mean stickier relationships, added revenue, and greater control over schedules.

Before making the investment, the team needs to see enough consistent volume and find not only the right printer but also finishing equipment, workflow software, materials, and inks.

“Reliability and service support are especially important,” Smith adds. “If a machine goes down during a political campaign or before a major event, turnaround time becomes critical. We are evaluating the full cost of ownership, not simply the purchase price, and determining which products we can produce efficiently and profitably from the beginning.”

Questions they’re asking vendors at PRINTING United Expo:

• What is the true hourly output at sellable quality?
• What are the actual ink, media, and maintenance costs?
• How quickly is technical service available in my area?
• Which applications are most profitable on the equipment?
• What finishing equipment is needed to offer a complete product?
• How well does the equipment integrate with our current workflow?
• Can we speak with commercial printers running the equipment in a similar environment?

The team also plans to bring sample files and substrates to compare real output, speed, and finishing rather than relying only on demos and specifications.

For other commercial printers exploring wide-format, Smith says expansion starts by listening to customers and tracking requests, outsourcing expenses, turnaround times, and potential margins to determine whether there’s real demand. She also recommends considering the full picture, including file prep, installation, delivery, staffing, and training.

“You do not have to enter a new market by offering everything immediately,” Smith says. “Start with the products that fit your existing customers and operations, become excellent at producing them, and expand as the demand develops.”

Packaging & Labels

Slate Group is no stranger to adding in-house capabilities. Its newest addition, label manufacturing, joins its offset, digital, wide-format, apparel, and fulfillment lineup.

“Slate Group has grown by steadily adding in-house capabilities based on the needs of our customers,” Trey Laverty, director of sales and marketing, Slate Group, says. “Labels followed the same pattern that led us into embellishments, promotional products, and apparel. Customers who already trusted us for offset, digital, and wide-format work started asking whether we could handle their labels and stickers too.”

L-R: Dylan Denny, senior account executive; Kaden Hartman, label department manager; and Trey Laverty, director of sales and marketing, standing in Slate Group’s label area, featuring an HP 6K+, GM DC350Flex with JetFX digital embellishment, GM HF350 hot foil, and GM RS350 sheeter and diecutter. | Credit: Slate Group

After much evaluation, it launched labels in January 2026, adding an HP 6K+, GM DC350Flex with JetFX digital embellishments, HF350 standalone hot foil unit, and an RS350 diecut sheeter.

Bringing labels in-house has allowed the company to move faster, control quality, and experiment with new techniques. But despite its printing experience, Laverty says the team faced a learning curve and leaned on industry peers and its own employees.

“We have had the privilege to learn from other label companies,” he says. “We are all in competition with each other in one way or another, but we respect each other, and we love to share as much as we receive. Because of our location, we don’t have a deep pool of experienced pressmen and finishers to hire from, so we did what we have always done and leaned on our own people.”

“Our takeaway is simple: The right people with an innovative mindset will outperform experience on paper almost every time, provided you’re willing to invest in them and give them room to experiment,” Laverty continues.

Bringing labels in-house allows Slate Group to move faster, control quality, and experiment with new techniques. | Credit: Slate Group

In doing that, they’ve implemented AI, building an agent for the label department that learns the equipment and tracks metrics to reduce downtime and improve processes.

Adding labels has diversified its customer base and opened new markets, providing steadier work and greater resilience during economic turbulence.

For printers exploring labels, Laverty says customer demand should drive expansion, backed by a sales team that can deliver growth and vendor partners that will provide long-term support.

“Equipment this capable comes with a learning curve, and having people on the other end of the phone who will work through it alongside you, help you find the right solution, and push the equipment to its fullest abilities makes all the difference,” he adds.

Questions Laverty recommends asking vendors:

• What platform can I grow into to meet my future needs?
• What training and ongoing support do you offer — months and years down the road?
• What features allow me to run a wider range of stocks?
• Can you connect me with current customers to discuss their experience?

Promotional Products

For Vivid Impact, a provider of end-to-end visual communications, promotional products were the missing piece in its service stack.

“Our expansion into promotional products was a direct response to customer demand,” Sam Campitella, CEO of Vivid Impact, says. “Many of our clients see print and promo as a dual offering, and after having an exceptional experience with us on the print side, they wanted the simplicity of consolidating both under one roof. We made the decision once it became clear that providing promotional products would create a more seamless, efficient, and consistent experience for the brands we serve.”

When it comes to producing promo products in-house versus outsourcing, Campitella says it’s a delicate balance. Vivid Impact uses a hybrid approach, producing select lower-quantity promotional products in-house (T-shirts, golf balls, badges, and magnets) while relying on supplier partners for other products and higher-volume orders. The company reviews frequently ordered items to identify additional opportunities for in-house production.

Vivid Impact uses a hybrid approach, producing select, short-run promotional products in-house while relying on supplier partners for other products and higher-volume orders. | Credit: Vivid Impact

Talking lessons learned, Campitella says it’s about more than just expanding what it sells; it’s about “adopting the workflow internally and making it feel seamless for the customer,” which can pose challenges — from supplier coordination and fulfillment requirements to maintaining a low-friction customer experience.

Despite the challenges, Campitella says adding promotional products has strengthened relationships with customers, built deeper relationships with partners, increased reach and market share, and added revenue growth opportunities.

“It has also reinforced a ‘land and expand’ approach: Once we earn a client’s trust through one service — often print — we can identify the next opportunity to support them, whether that is promotional products, fulfillment, signage, or another marketing need,” he explains. “This allows us to become more embedded in their operations while making their experience simpler and more cohesive.”

For others eyeing promo products, Campitella says the easiest place to start is with current clients. Talk with them and find out if they’re buying promo elsewhere.

“From there, build deliberately,” he adds. “Make sure your organization can successfully deliver the same level of service, communication, quality, and reliability that customers expect from your core print business before expanding the sales process more broadly. Promotional products can be a natural extension of print, but long-term success depends on having the workflows, supplier relationships, operational capacity, and team alignment in place to support it.”

Questions Campitella recommends asking promo suppliers and exhibitors:

• What does a successful print-to-promo expansion typically look like?
• Which product categories are the best entry point for a printing company?
• What operational workflows should we establish before selling broadly?
• How do you support quoting, sourcing, order management, and fulfillment?
• What are the most common mistakes new promo distributors make?
• Which products are best suited for in-house production versus supplier sourcing?
• Can you connect us with printing companies similar to ours that have recently added promotional products?

Apparel & More

Inside Vanderbilt University’s in-plant, Mike Puckett, director of Printing Services, has one mission: operate more efficiently and save the university money.

After attending his first PRINTING United Expo in Atlanta a few years ago, he left with ideas to grow the business. At the time, the in-plant was outsourcing T-shirt orders and using a time-consuming rotary engraver to produce name tags.

Laser engraving first caught his attention on the Expo floor. After talking with exhibitors, Puckett scheduled a demo with a local Epilog dealer and brought his own files to see what the equipment could do.

For Vanderbilt Printing Services, both the direct-to-film and laser engraving investments came down to efficiency and cost savings. | Credit: Vanderbilt Printing Services

“We engraved two nametags in just 51 seconds,” he notes. The same job had taken over 30 minutes with the in-plant’s rotary engraver. “We made the purchase a week later.”

Apparel followed a similar path. After seeing another in-plant produce its own shirts and hats during a tour at ACUP 2025, Puckett researched apparel decoration technologies and determined direct-to-film (DTF) was the right fit.

“I contacted a few vendors, saw a few demos, and then made my purchase,” Puckett says. “We have been very satisfied with the purchase. It paid for itself in seven months.”

For Puckett, who was hired to rebuild the in-plant, both investments came back to efficiency and cost savings. The laser dramatically reduced production time and labor, while bringing T-shirt printing in-house helped the university avoid outsourcing costs.

“It has given me more products to offer, faster turn times, and the ability to gain more and more customers,” Puckett shares.

For other in-plants considering apparel decoration or laser engraving, Puckett recommends shopping around, asking the right questions, and understanding the full capabilities of the equipment.

Questions Puckett recommends asking vendors:

• What are the capabilities of the equipment?
• What are the power and space requirements?
• What software is needed?
• Can you demonstrate the equipment using my own files?

Seeing the technology in action and testing it against the in-plant’s real-world applications was key to making the right investment.

Diversification works when it’s led by customer demand. Lean into those conversations, ask vendors what it could look like for your business, and you’ll become a more valuable partner.